Republic of the Philippines

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

Roxas, Isabela

MODULE VI

1. Title of the Module: Crop Improvement & Seed Selection

2. Overview/Introduction

This unit covers the basic knowledge, skills and attitude required for the students to
understand crop improvement & Seed Selection. It involves the study in goals and basic
concepts in crop improvements, general methods of crop improvement, mating systems in
crops, and classes of seeds.

3. Learning Outcome/Objective

Able to enumerate and discuss the different methods of crop improvement and seed
selection.

4. Learning Content/Topic

Lc1. Goals and Basic Concepts in Crop Improvements (Definition of terms, varieties,
history and etc.), General Methods of Crop Improvement (Introduction, selection,
hybridization, and integration) and Classes of Seeds

5. Teaching and Learning Activities

● Online discussion, SMS or other feasible modalities for communication.

● Self-assessment questions and activities for students.
● Reading assignments

6. Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adapted

Google classroom, module, exercises, TelEdu app

7. Assessment Task

8. References (Copyrighted within the last 10 years)

About Us | Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://pcic.gov.ph/about-us/
Agricultural sciences | Definition, History, Disciplines, & Importance | Britannica. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 13, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/science/agricultural-sciences
Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA). (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://www.slideshare.net/KarlLouisseObispo/agriculture-and-fisheries-modernization-act-afma
Asia-Pacific: agricultural perspectives - RaboResearch. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://economics.rabobank.com/publications/2016/february/asia-pacific-
agriculturalperspectives/
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippines | WorldFish Partners. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 13, 2020, from https://www.worldfishcenter.org/bureau-fisheries-and-
aquaticresources-philippines

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 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Roxas, Isabela

Crop Science. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from

https://learn.org/directory/category/Agricultural_Studies/Plant_Sciences/Crop_Science.html
Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) | WorldFish Donors. (n.d.).
Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://www.worldfishcenter.org/department-
agriculture’sbureau-agricultural-research-da-bar
Department of Agriculture | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 13, 2020, from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/section/briefing-room/departmentof-
agriculture/
Fact Sheet Philippines – Women in agriculture, environment and rural production. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 13, 2020, from http://www.fao.org/3/ae946e/ae946e03.htm
International Trade Agreements and Organizations | Boundless Business. (n.d.). Retrieved September
13, 2020, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-
business/chapter/international-trade-agreements-and-organizations/
Land Use - Our World in Data. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://ourworldindata.org/land-use
Origin Domestication and History of Some Important Crops | Cereals | Agriculture. (n.d.).
Origins of agriculture - How agriculture and domestication began | Britannica. (n.d.).
Philippine Carabao Center - Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Carabao_Center
Philippines: land area used for agricultural crop cultivation 2015-2018 | Statista. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 13, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1045556/land-area-used-
foragricultural-crop-cultivation-philippines/
Philippine Rice Research Institute | Agricultural Information Management Standards (AIMS). (n.d.).
Retrieved September 13, 2020, from http://aims.fao.org/philippine-rice-research-institute
Philippines - Agricultural Land (% Of Land Area) - 1961-2016 Data | 2020 Forecast. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 13, 2020, from https://tradingeconomics.com/philippines/agricultural-land-percent-
ofland-area-wb-data.html
Philippines Agriculture, Information about Agriculture in Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13,
2020, from https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-
Pacific/PhilippinesAGRICULTURE.html
Stone age 30000 BC. (n.d.). 1–36.
Sugar Regulatory Administration - Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Regulatory_Administration
The world food situation: New driving forces and required actions [In Chinese] | IFPRI : International
Food Policy Research Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://www.ifpri.org/node/2496
The World Food Situation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://www.slideshare.net/jvonbraun/the-world-food-situation?from_action=save
Upland Farming. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://www.nakasendoway.com/uplandfarming/
What is agricultural biotechnology? | HowStuffWorks. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/agricultural-biotechnology.htm
WTO | The WTO in brief. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/inbrief_e/inbr_e.htm

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 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Roxas, Isabela

MODULE VI

CROP IMPROVEMENT & SEED SELECTION

Lc1. Goals and Basic Concepts in Crop Improvements

Plant Breeding
 Science, art, and business of crop improvement for human benefit
 Improves quality, disease and insect resistance, change in maturity duration,
agronomic characteristics, photosensitivity, synchronous maturity, non-shattering
characteristics etc.
Activities in plant Breeding:
1. CREATION OF VARIATION a. Naturally existing variability
 Domestication- process bringing wild species under human
management.
 Germplasm collection – collection of a large number of genotypes of
a crop species and its wild relatives.
 Introduction – taking a genotype or a group of genotypes of plants into
new environments where they were not being grown before.
b. Creation of new variability
 Hybridization – crossing genetically dissimilar individuals
c. Hybrid – the intermediate product of hybridization
 Inbreeding – mating of individuals related by ancestry; leads to
production of homozygous individuals
 Inbred – production of inbreeding hence consequently a homozygous
individual
 Topcross – cross between a plant or line and a tester (tester may be
an inbred, hybrid, synthetic, or open pollinated variety)
 Backcross – a cross between a hybrid and one of its parents; also a
breeding method based on repeated backcrossing of F1 (first
generation offspring of a cross_ and the subsequent generations to the
recurrent parent usually to transfer a major train controlled by one or a
few genes from the donor (as the non-recurrent parent) and the
recipient (as the recurrent parent)
 Polycross – open pollination in isolation among a number of selected
genotypes arranged in a manner that promotes random mating.
 Reciprocal cross – mating of two individuals in which each in used as
the male parent and in one cross and the female parent in the other
 Intraspecific cross – crossing individuals belonging to the same
species
 Wide or distant cross – crossing distantly related individuals
 Introgressive hybridization – repeatedly backcrossing interspecific
hybrid to one of the parental species leading to the transfer of some
genes from one species to another.
d. Heterosis of hybrid vigor – superiority of the F1 hybrid over its parents
 Mid- parent heterosis
 Heterobeitiosis
 Standard heterosis

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 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Roxas, Isabela

e. Combining ability – the ability of a genotype to transfer its desirable traits to

its progeny
 General combining ability – average performance of a strain in a
series of crosses
 Specific combining ability – deviation from performance predicted on
the basis of general combining ability of parent lines
f. Inbreeding depression – loss of vigor due to inbreeding
g. Mutation  Heritable change in an organism
 Spontaneous – mutation occurring in natural populations
 Induced – mutation artificially produced by treatment with certain
physical or chemical agents or mutagens
h. Chimera – an individual with one genotype in some of its parts and another
genotype in other parts
i. Polyploidization – increasing ploidy level to more than two identical or distinct
genomes
j. Genetic Engineering
 Production of transgenic plants
 Changing the genetic make-up of plant species; done when sexual
hybridization between the recipient and donor is imposible
 Steps:
1. Identification of genes, construction of vectors
2. In vitro plant regeneration system
3. Gene introduction methods
4. Molecular analysis
5. Gene expression assays
6. Stability and transmission analysis
2. SELECTION
Identification of individuals or lines that are more desirable than others in a
heterogeneous population

a. Natural selection – change in gene frequencies from one generation to

another because of differences in survival and reproductive abilities of parent
genotypes in natural populations.
b. Artificial selection – change in gene frequencies brought about by man as is
done in plant breeding where certain individuals or genotypes are not used as
parent of the next generation.

Mode of selection
i. Stabilizing or normalizing selection – when adaptive individuals in the
populations are selected under a constant environment through the years;
keeps the population constant and eliminates the deviants; reduces the
variability present in the population.
j. Directional selection – change towards a particular direction due to
changing environments resulting also in change of genetic contribution of
the population; mode observed when breeders do artificial section
k. Diversifying or disruptive selection – opposite if stabilizing selections;
leads to either formation of subpopulations differing in their characteristics
or polymorphism in which each genotype is represented by a distinct
phenotype.

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 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Roxas, Isabela

Traits selected for

a. Quality traits – monogenic or oligogenic traits; show discrete or noncontinuous
variation, controlled by one of few genes, less influenced by environment.

b. Quantitative traits – polygenic, metric or measurable traits; show continuous

variation, controlled by many genes, highly influenced by environment.

Based of selection
a. Phenotype (P) can be accounted for by the genotype (G), the environment (E)
and the interaction between genotype and environment (GxE).

b. Components of phenotypic variance:

1. Phenotypic variance – sum of genotypic variance, environmental variance
and GxE variance

2. Genotypic variance – sum of additive and non-additive types of gene

action
*Additive – due to individual effects of genes
*Non-additive – due to intralocus and interlocus interaction
3. Environmental variance – effect of environment on the phenotype and
estimated by measuring variation in a genotypically uniform population
growth in a certain location.

4. GXE interaction – change in ranking and/or performance of genotypes

when grown in different environments; estimated by computing variances of
genotypes when grown in a number of locations which are environmentally
diverse.

Heritability – a portion of the phenotypic variation among individuals that is due to

genetic differences among them.
a. Broad-sense heritability – is estimated from the ratio of the total genetic
variance to the phenotypic variance.
b. Narrow-sense heritability – is estimated from the ration of the additive portion
of the genetic variance to the phenotypic variance
c. Selection differential – difference between the mean performance of
genotypes selected from a population and the overall population mean
d. Gain from selection – increase in mean performance of a population that is
realized with each cycle of selction

3. EVALUATION
 -process of assessing the performance of newly developed lines of a crop
through appropriate multi location trials and tests.
 Sequences in the conduct of yield tests:
a. Observation yield test – may test separate groups of experimental
lines; use incomplete block design or triple lattice design with 2-3
replications in one location

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 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Roxas, Isabela

b. Preliminary yield test – evaluation including a check variety using

incomplete block design with 2-3 replications in at least 2 locations
c. General yield test – uses randomized complete block design with 3
replications in at least 3 locations
d. Advanced yield test – elite lines from general yield test evaluated
using randomized complete block design with 4-replications in 6-10
locations
 Superior lines are approved to be released as a variety by the National Seed
Industry Council (NSIC); the variety must have passed the tests for
distinctiveness (D), Uniformity (U) and stability (S) or the DUS-test.

4. MULTIPLICATION
Seed multiplication of an entry after it has been identified for release; the seed
produced by the breeder after a strain is identified but before it is released as a
variety is termed as the stock seed. The stock seed is known as breeder seed once
the identified strain is released and notified.
Seed - any propagating material used for raising a crop

Seed multiplication involves:

a. Seed production - should observe proper isolation procedures to maintain
genetic purity of the variety
b. Isolation - separation of a population of plants from other genotypes with which
they are capable of mating
c. Seed processing - drying, cleaning and grading, testing, treating, bagging and
labeling

Types of varieties
a. Hybrids - first generation offspring of a cross between two individuals differing
in one or more genes
b. Synthetics - seed mixture of strains, clones, inbreds, or hybrids, maintained by
open-pollination for a specified number of generations; the component units are
propagated and the synthetic reconstituted at regular intervals
c. Composites - mixture of genotypes from several sources, maintained by
normal pollination
d. Inbreds - a pureline originating by self pollination and selection
e. Multilines-or blends; composite of isolines
f. Isolines, lines that are genetically similar except for one gene
g. Open-pollinated variety - variety maintained by natural cross pollination
h. Landraces - farmer-selected cultivated forms

Hybrid seed production a. 3-line system - male sterile line (A), maintainer line
(B) and restorer line
(R)
b. 2-line system - male sterile line, the expression of which is influenced by
environment and any inbred variety as pollen parent
c. 1-line system - use of apomixis to produce the F1 seeds and maintain the
genotype of the F1

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 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Roxas, Isabela

3. DISTRIBUTION Classes of seeds

a. Breeder seeds - controlled by the originating plant breeder; starting point of
all the subsequent classes of seeds; seeds obtained from uniform panicles by
breeders; 100 percent pure
b. Foundation seeds - seeds produced from breeder seeds, source of
registered and/or certified seeds; carry a red tag
c. Registered seeds - produced from foundation or registered seeds and carry
a green tag
d. Certified seeds - produced from foundation, registered or certified seeds and
carry a blue tag e. Good seeds - produced from varieties not yet approved by
NSIC 6.

4. CONSERVATION OF GERMPLASM
• Germplasm-is the sum total of hereditary material or genes present in a
species
• Plant germplasm- genetic source material used by plant breeders to develop
new cultivars
• Germplasm storage
 As seeds in cold/refrigerated rooms
 Maintained as living plants in field or through slow growth in vitro
 Cryopreservation or freeze-preservation

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 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Roxas, Isabela

Questions to answer:
1. What is Plant breeding?
2. What is variation in crop production?
3. What is selection in crop production?
4. What are the 4 types of seeds classes?
5. How to assess newly developed lines of a crop?
6. How would you conserved germplasm?

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